Electromagnetically Induced Transparency Spectra of ⁶Li Rydberg Atoms

Abstract

Rydberg atoms possess highly excited valence electrons that are far away from atomic cations. Compared with ground states, Rydberg states are excited states with a high principal quantum number n that exhibit large electric dipole moments and have a variety of applications in quantum information processing. In this communication, we report the measurement of the 6Li Rydberg excitation spectrum by ladder-type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a vapor cell. The 2p→ns/nd EIT spectra were recorded by sweeping the frequency of an ultraviolet Rydberg pumping laser while keeping the probing laser resonant to the 2s→2p transition. All lasers were locked on an ultrastable optical Fabry-Pérot cavity and measured by an optical frequency comb. Our results provide valuable information to precisely determine quantum defects and enable novel experiments with Rydberg-dressed ultracold Fermi gases.

Keywords

• two-photon excitation
• electromagnetically induced transparency spectra
• quantum defects